Class of 2011 — Day 6: Mike DeSantis could stop a Mack truck from going into his goal

John Nash

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8:00 pm EDT, Sunday, June 5, 2011

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Class of 2011 — Day 6: Mike DeSantis could stop a Mack truck from going into his goal

Class of 2011 — Day 6: Mike DeSantis could stop a Mack truck from going into his goal

Class of 2011 — Day 6: Mike DeSantis could stop a Mack truck from going into his goal

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The Wilton High boys soccer team had one of the best defenses in the state last season, a series of players that were next to impossible to get by. Those that did were unlucky enough to see Mike DeSantis standing as the last line of defense — the soccer goalkeeper who seemingly could stop a bullet with his teeth, a greased pig with his hands and a Mack Truck with his head. And I mean that positively.

DeSantis was the thinking's man goalkeeper, whose brains in the net, communication from the back and straight out athletic skills made him impossible to beat.

He shut 11 teams out this season, including Ridgefield in the regular season (in fact, the Tigers never beat him, going scoreless for 160 minutes against DeSantis) and Berlin in the CIAC Class L quarterfinals. An own goal, however, ended Wilton's dreams of a state title as the Warriors lost 1-0.

Greenwich wanted to brag and boast about it had lit up DeSantis and the Warriors for a 4-0 win in the regular season. The team even had the soccer balls to leave that game's final score — 4-0 — up on the scoreboard during the entire pregame warm-up in the first round of the FCIAC playoffs.

Sun was a major issue in the game and DeSantis did give up the four-spot, but in the league playoffs — armed with a Boston Red Sox hat to ward-off the sun — DeSantis kept the scoreboard motionless on the Cardinals side, shutting out Greenwich as Wilton won its first-ever league playoff game.

With his soccer season behind him, DeSantis turned his focus to baseball where he helped a team of unknown potential miss the FCIAC playoffs by one game (one run, to be exact) and within four one-run losses from a shot at being the No. 1 seed in the Class L state tournament.

DeSantis batted out of the No. 2 slot for Wilton and manned left field with the same quick-footed prowess that he showed in the soccer goal, giving Wilton one of the top outfielders in the FCIAC.

No matter the ball — big or small — DeSantis left his heart out on two Wilton High School fields in his career.